MONTEGO BAY, St James — Fitz Coleman, coach of sprint hurdler Hansle Parchment, has adopted a cautious approach to getting the athlete back to full fitness after he returned to training last week following a two-week layoff due to a sprained ankle he suffered at the JAAA National Senior Championships in June.

“We are taking the path of caution and we are trying to get him healthy more than anything else,” Coleman told the Jamaica Observer Tuesday.

Parchment, the Olympic bronze medal winner who lowered his own National Record to 13.05 seconds earlier this year, twisted his left ankle while warming up for the men’s 110m hurdles final at the National Trials and missed two weeks of training and competition while he underwent rehabilitation.

He returned to training last week and Coleman reported that Parchment had “made positive progress, which is encouraging,” but added he “was not 100 per cent fit but we are still hopeful that by the time the World Championships comes around he will be running well”.

There were no plans for Parchment to compete before the World Championships, yet Coleman said: “The plan is to get him as healthy as can be.” Coleman said adding they were waiting to see how well he progresses before making a definitive decision whether he would have a pre-Championships race or not.

Meanwhile, Coleman said they had kept the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) abreast “to make sure they know what is going on”.

JAAA boss Dr Warren Blake announced in June that athletes who had not competed at the Trials would not be included in the team to Moscow, even if the athlete presented a medical certificate to indicate an illness.

When contacted after Parchment’s injury, however, Blake said he would be considered for the team given that he had turned up at the championships.